When I use a 5 step approach I fell like I am off balance (I have almost fell a few times). When I use a 4 step approach, I slide better, and don't come around the ball and I seem to get more behind the ball this way. Now, I try to have a natural backswing and as I come forward, if I am cocking my wrist, when i get to the release point, should i twist and try to muscle my arm upward to get as much lift as possible? Any video I watch obviously never tells what you should do at the release point and especially what to do if you are looking to crank the ball.

There is so much grey area.

When I use a 5 step approach I fell like I am off balance (I have almost fell a few times). When I use a 4 step approach, I slide better, and don't come around the ball and I seem to get more behind the ball this way. Now, I try to have a natural backswing and as I come forward, if I am cocking my wrist, when i get to the release point, should i twist and try to muscle my arm upward to get as much lift as possible? Any video I watch obviously never tells what you should do at the release point and especially what to do if you are looking to crank the ball.

There is so much grey area.

1st question is how fast are you throwing your ball? Reason asking because since you are trying to put alot of revs on the ball, you'll need the speed to get it to teh mark otherwise it's pointless to have the revs if you can't even get downlane.

2nd Question, do you have a big bowling bag to handle different lanes?

3rd, any reason to change from a tweener to cranker? As a tweener you should be able to add revs upon demand if needed.

The release no matter how you do it, has a lot to do with timing. You can have a great wrist position but awful timing and kill the whole shot. Its best to concentrate on having perfect balance at the line when you release the ball. Therefore you "post" the shot. You can look up many videos on posting the shot via you tube, but Doug Kent comes to mind. Or just watch any contemporary bowling competition especially ladies competition. I saw ladies because they do not have the brute force to overpower the shot and lanes, their form and technique has to be nearly picture perfect for them to rise to the highest levels of the sport. Without balance you will be inaccurate. Without a good dose of accuracy no matter your release, you will not advance as quickly. Most bowlers I see, do NOT have much balance at the line. Even many 205-210+ bowlers do not have balance at the line or post their shots. While on a house shot they can get away with this, on any tournament shots or traveling from center to center this fault will handicap a good bowler. So the first thing I would like to know is " are you balanced at the release point so you can post the shot?"

Now once you have balance, you can get a deep knee bend, locate your sliding foot properly and release the ball close to your ankle. While you are doing this, you need to STAY DOWN at the line, not pop up.

The video example you were given was great. He's not what I would call a cranker though. This type of precise delivery of a bowling ball is not natural, he was taught to do this. You cannot self teach technique like this no matter how much you read. Technique like this example/bowler has is not free. Had this bowler been in the 1970s his entire approach and delivery would have been different and much less polished for optimum timing. And mostly likely self taught without the aid of coaching, books or video.

I don't see any reason to move from a tweener to a cranker. Its will make you a victim of drier lanes or shorter oil conditions. If you are more of a stroker, you rely mostly on accuracy and consistency. I would not move from that either because it will serve you well for many many years. Most bowlers have a natural tempo to their bowling. Which developes into the stroker, tweener and cranker styles, plus body shape and form have something to do with it. Most taller gangly bowlers (or extremly lean bowlers) are NOT fit to be crankers. And most crankers are shorter, stout muscular frames. You have to first follow your natural inclinations and perfect them with good coaching and a lot of practice.

Erin

The release no matter how you do it, has a lot to do with timing. You can have a great wrist position but awful timing and kill the whole shot. Its best to concentrate on having perfect balance at the line when you release the ball. Therefore you "post" the shot. You can look up many videos on posting the shot via you tube, but Doug Kent comes to mind. Or just watch any contemporary bowling competition especially ladies competition. I saw ladies because they do not have the brute force to overpower the shot and lanes, their form and technique has to be nearly picture perfect for them to rise to the highest levels of the sport. Without balance you will be inaccurate. Without a good dose of accuracy no matter your release, you will not advance as quickly. Most bowlers I see, do NOT have much balance at the line. Even many 205-210+ bowlers do not have balance at the line or post their shots. While on a house shot they can get away with this, on any tournament shots or traveling from center to center this fault will handicap a good bowler. So the first thing I would like to know is " are you balanced at the release point so you can post the shot?"

Now once you have balance, you can get a deep knee bend, locate your sliding foot properly and release the ball close to your ankle. While you are doing this, you need to STAY DOWN at the line, not pop up.

The video example you were given was great. He's not what I would call a cranker though. This type of precise delivery of a bowling ball is not natural, he was taught to do this. You cannot self teach technique like this no matter how much you read. Technique like this example/bowler has is not free. Had this bowler been in the 1970s his entire approach and delivery would have been different and much less polished for optimum timing. And mostly likely self taught without the aid of coaching, books or video.

I don't see any reason to move from a tweener to a cranker. Its will make you a victim of drier lanes or shorter oil conditions. If you are more of a stroker, you rely mostly on accuracy and consistency. I would not move from that either because it will serve you well for many many years. Most bowlers have a natural tempo to their bowling. Which developes into the stroker, tweener and cranker styles, plus body shape and form have something to do with it. Most taller gangly bowlers (or extremly lean bowlers) are NOT fit to be crankers. And most crankers are shorter, stout muscular frames. You have to first follow your natural inclinations and perfect them with good coaching and a lot of practice.

Erin

howie, you're in florida? you shouldn't have any trouble finding some crank.

oh wait, i misread the subject line.

I was throwing the ball pretty fast but I slowed it down a bit so that my ball could react a little bit and I could get my timing down a bit better. If I had to guess about 14-15 MPH. It takes about 3-4 seconds to get to the pins from release. That is just a guess and estimate.

I just got a 3 ball roller to go with my 2 ball tote. I have a 900 global for a spare ball, a Brunswick fury pearl, and a Hammer anger polished as well. Both fury and Hammer are 16# and the spare ball is 15#. I think I'm going to get a dimension this week as a heavier hooking ball.

The reason to change to a cranker is because when I throw on a modified house shot or a sport shot, my ball does barely anything. I know I have to learn to get more revs on the ball but I feel that my mechanics are completely jacked too.

If you are in fact a "tweener", your ball should move on just about anything. 14-15mph off the hand is actually slower than you want. My guess is that you need to work on cleaning up your existing release - in most cases, trying to hook the ball results in a reduction in revolutions and hooking action. A smooth effortless release can easily yield 400 rpms, which is more than enough for any condition. Do you have access to a video cameras, or perhaps a digital cameras that can take video? If you could post video of yourself, we could probably help you get started.



No. Lift is bad. To get maximum hook, you want to have your hand as c0cked as possible at the bottom of the swing. Your thumb comes out, and you unc0ck your hand. That's it. No turning the wrist, no yanking up on the fingerholes. You want your hand to come through the back of the ball, not around the side of it. The video above, showing Chris Barnes release, shows this perfectly. He does nothing at the bottom of the swing, and easily gets 450 rpms.

A quick search of this forum will reveal several posts asking this same question, with the same reply I've just given here, and a link to the following article: http://www.bowlingknowledge.info/images/stories/slowinskiapr08.pdf

Hey Atochabsh, thank you for the response. I will be honest when I tell you that I do not feel like I am balanced at the line when I release the ball. Many times I feel as though I'm sticking at the line or I slide too much and have to catch myself from falling. If the thought of a shoe problem comes up, I just got a new pair of Dexter SXT6's and I use a 6 on the front bottom. I take good care of them as well as not to leave the lane area without putting the protection on my feet.

When you tell me to stay down, should I be bent at the waste down or should my chest be front forward?

The last post was in response to jsigone but as I said then, I definitely need to get more revs on the ball. My ball is doing nothing on any sort of sport shot.

Hey cgeorg, thank you very much for the information. I think I am going to go to the Pro Shop tonight and get a Storm dimension or an Ebonite NVD drilled up for my heavy oil shots. I will try to take some video and post them on youtube to see what you think. Any angles you want me to specifically take?